Ditch Lights (cont.), the "Whoop!" noise, and a bell?

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SarahZ

Quality Control
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Continued from another thread:

In many (all?) cases, the lights are on steadily when running and flash left-right when the horn is being blown. Some may flash all the time, but I would think that would drive the engineer bonkers after a while.
Ohhhhhh, that explains why I thought they flash constantly. When the train comes through town, it's approaching multiple intersections, pretty much one right after the other, so the horn blows almost constantly. By the time it clears one intersection, it's approaching another.

I'm trying to remember if the lights keep flashing when it's parked at the station, though. The way our station is set up, the train blocks Rose Street while it's parked there, no matter which direction it's headed. I'll have to wander over there sometime to see if they're flashing while it's sitting there. Since the crossing gates/bells/lights are going the entire time it's blocking the road, the ditch lights might still be activated (?)

I stopped by the station tonight and watched the train come in. The ditch lights did blink back and forth for a bit after the train came to a stop, but then they shut off. They started up again when the train started to move, but the train goes through multiple intersections at that point, so the horn/lights are going constantly. The train station is in a heavily populated area with lots of streets.

Also, something I've always wondered: just as the train is about to start moving, there's this awesome "whoooOOP!" noise. It does it again maybe ten seconds later, as it builds up speed. What is that noise? I always thought it was the sound of the brakes releasing, but I heard it a second time after the train started moving. I love that noise.
wub.gif
I think it's because 1) it's a cool noise, and 2) it means the train is about to move (yay).

Last question: when the train comes into the station, I hear a soft bell sound, like you'd hear on the old steam engines that had an actual bell on the top of the loco. I always thought it was the crossing signal throwing sound off the surrounding buildings, but it really does come from the loco. It sounds like it dings in time with the ditch lights (or, at least it appears that way). Is it an electronic bell sound to help warn people the train is moving? Am I crazy and imagining things?
 
I must say...I love that WHOOP sound and have always wondered what exactly it was. I also like the pneumatic mini-bursts and [electrical?] clicking noises. Sometimes I'll just stand by the locomotive and listen for a while. The wound up HEP motor is also quite impressive to take in. Good stuff!

Edit: Missing word.
 
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Continued from another thread:

In many (all?) cases, the lights are on steadily when running and flash left-right when the horn is being blown. Some may flash all the time, but I would think that would drive the engineer bonkers after a while.
Ohhhhhh, that explains why I thought they flash constantly. When the train comes through town, it's approaching multiple intersections, pretty much one right after the other, so the horn blows almost constantly. By the time it clears one intersection, it's approaching another.

I'm trying to remember if the lights keep flashing when it's parked at the station, though. The way our station is set up, the train blocks Rose Street while it's parked there, no matter which direction it's headed. I'll have to wander over there sometime to see if they're flashing while it's sitting there. Since the crossing gates/bells/lights are going the entire time it's blocking the road, the ditch lights might still be activated (?)

I stopped by the station tonight and watched the train come in. The ditch lights did blink back and forth for a bit after the train came to a stop, but then they shut off. They started up again when the train started to move, but the train goes through multiple intersections at that point, so the horn/lights are going constantly. The train station is in a heavily populated area with lots of streets.

Also, something I've always wondered: just as the train is about to start moving, there's this awesome "whoooOOP!" noise. It does it again maybe ten seconds later, as it builds up speed. What is that noise? I always thought it was the sound of the brakes releasing, but I heard it a second time after the train started moving. I love that noise.
wub.gif
I think it's because 1) it's a cool noise, and 2) it means the train is about to move (yay).

Last question: when the train comes into the station, I hear a soft bell sound, like you'd hear on the old steam engines that had an actual bell on the top of the loco. I always thought it was the crossing signal throwing sound off the surrounding buildings, but it really does come from the loco. It sounds like it dings in time with the ditch lights (or, at least it appears that way). Is it an electronic bell sound to help warn people the train is moving? Am I crazy and imagining things?

Can't help you on the bell noise other than to assume it is the locomotive bell, but I think I can on the "Whoop" sound....I belive that's the air compressor you're hearing kicking on. It "unloads" when air is not needed, but as the train releases the air brakes, the brake pipe pressure increases, but the main resevoir decreases, which kicks on the air compressor, making the "whoop" noise, to replenish the main reservoir.
 
I must say...I love that WHOOP sound and have always wondered what exactly what it was. I also like the pneumatic mini-bursts and [electrical?] clicking noises. Sometimes I'll just stand by the locomotive and listen for a while. The wound up HEP motor is also quite impressive to take in. Good stuff!

Edit: Missing word.

The clicking noises you hear, is probably the main resevoir automatic spitter valves working to rid itself of water-when air is compacted, moisture in the atmosphere is liquified when cooled in the air tanks. Automatic spitter valves elimitate it , with a definite "PPfftffft" noise, and can be a clicking if it's done quickly.
 
I must say...I love that WHOOP sound and have always wondered what exactly it was. I also like the pneumatic mini-bursts and [electrical?] clicking noises. Sometimes I'll just stand by the locomotive and listen for a while. The wound up HEP motor is also quite impressive to take in. Good stuff!

Edit: Missing word.
Me too. :) I was standing near the loco tonight, listening to it as it sat there. The conductor had finished helping everyone off, so he turned to me with a big smile and asked, "Are you traveling with us tonight?"

I said, "No, sorry. I just love watching trains."
wub.gif
Busted!

Also, not that it has to do with this thread, but I do love when conductors are super-into their jobs and say cool things like that. It adds so much to the experience. It's one more reason I prefer trains to planes. Everyone is so friendly and funny. I would LOVE to work on a train someday. I want to be that happy at my job. Plus, trains. ;)
 
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I must say...I love that WHOOP sound and have always wondered what exactly what it was. I also like the pneumatic mini-bursts and [electrical?] clicking noises. Sometimes I'll just stand by the locomotive and listen for a while. The wound up HEP motor is also quite impressive to take in. Good stuff!
The clicking noises you hear, is probably the main resevoir automatic spitter valves working to rid itself of water-when air is compacted, moisture in the atmosphere is liquified when cooled in the air tanks. Automatic spitter valves elimitate it , with a definite "PPfftffft" noise, and can be a clicking if it's done quickly.
Thank you for the explanations Shortline. I find locomotives to be really fascinating machines. Agreed Sorcha that it is nice when you meet railroaders who obviously love what they do. 
 
The whoop sound happens any time the air compressor kicks in. On GE's the compressor only runs when needed, it's driven by an electric drive motor, and the sound is the electric motor spooling up just before the compressor starts pumping. The compressor will turn on any time the pressure in the locomotive air tanks gets below a certain programmed air pressure. The bell you heard is just that- the locomotive's bell. The bell comes on any time you blow the horn, you leave it on until you get past a road crossing. You also are supposed to ring the bell even if you are going over road crossings in a "quiet zone" where you don't blow the horn. The ditch lights will flash any time the bell is on, when you turn the bell off they will go back to just being steady on bright.
 
I must say...I love that WHOOP sound and have always wondered what exactly what it was. I also like the pneumatic mini-bursts and [electrical?] clicking noises. Sometimes I'll just stand by the locomotive and listen for a while. The wound up HEP motor is also quite impressive to take in. Good stuff!
The clicking noises you hear, is probably the main resevoir automatic spitter valves working to rid itself of water-when air is compacted, moisture in the atmosphere is liquified when cooled in the air tanks. Automatic spitter valves elimitate it , with a definite "PPfftffft" noise, and can be a clicking if it's done quickly.
Thank you for the explanations Shortline. I find locomotives to be really fascinating machines. Agreed Sorcha that it is nice when you meet railroaders who obviously love what they do.

My pleasure. I don't knnow the P-42's like some do, but I'm pretty well versed at everything freight from a GP-7 to a SD-90 or GE-9!
 
Some P42's and most if not all P40's Have E-Bells that sound like


Thanks! I love that sound.

The second video showed me another thing I like: the visual of the conductors standing at the doors, waiting to assist with passengers. They do that as they cross my street since I live so close to the train station. Sometimes they wave at traffic. It reminds me of trains from the early 20th century with the conductors and their pocket watches. :)
 
Some P42's and most if not all P40's Have E-Bells that sound like


The second video was Filmed in Ashland, VA. It's a nice little Railfan town. Amtrak has a few trains that stop here a day. The long distance trains such as the Silver Star, Silver Meteor, Palmetto, and Carolinian will Slowly breeze through town. The NER's make stops here. There's maybe 4 at most that stop at Ashland on a Daily Basis. Saturday's bring maybe 5. Sunday's back to around 4. Nice town though.
 
The bells are used as a warning. They need to sound at grade crossings, when starting/stopping, at the station, and anywhere where a warning is needed. There may be FRA rules, state rules, host railroad rules, Amtrak rules, etc. that have exact wording.

I know I have limted experiance, but I have found that Amtrak employees are really friendly for the most part. The only exception to this that sticks in my mind is the woman at the cafe car on the Acela express when I was on it. She was the rudist *itch I have met. The consudctors are always friendly and the attendant on the Crescent was very socialable when I stepped off the train in DC while they switched head in power. She was telling me all about her job.
 
Doesn't the bell let people know the train is moving without requiring them to lay on the horn through a crowded station?
 
OK, I should know this but I don't. Regarding "bells and whistles," I know that there are trackside whistle posts that cue the engineer when to sound the horn for a grade crossing, but what cues the engineer to activate the bell sounding?

Is this just by rulebook or rote, that is, always activate through a station area or other designated area, or is there some kind of trackside cue for this as well? From benjibear's post, it would seem that an engineer only has a "book of rules" that he must go by for the bell.

Ocala Mike
 
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OK, I should know this but I don't. Regarding "bells and whistles," I know that there are trackside whistle posts that cue the engineer when to sound the horn for a grade crossing, but what cues the engineer to activate the bell sounding?

Is this just by rulebook or rote, that is, always activate through a station area or other designated area, or is there some kind of trackside cue for this as well? From benjibear's post, it would seem that an engineer only has a "book of rules" that he must go by for the bell.

Ocala Mike
First, I'm sure that there are specific rules in the book about when the bell must be rung. The most typical examples however would be in places where it would be most common to encounter people who might be near the tracks, typically a yard and a station. Also anytime the horn is sounded, it automatically activates the bell at the same time. So even a train approaching a grade crossing would have its bell ringing.

And of course remember that an engineer must be "qualified" on the line/yard that they are operating. Being qualified means that you know the rules, the lay of the land, and where things are and what you must do about it. You get your driver's license and you are "qualified" to drive down any public road in the US, even if you've never seen that road before in your life. That is not the case with an engineer, and the conductor as well. They must make multiple trips over the territory that they are going to work or become "qualified" for, under the direct supervision of someone who is already qualified for that territory, before they can operate on their own on that section of railroad.
 
The "W" (whistle) sign I have has the "W" on one side and a "R" on the other which stands for ring (the bell). The old days when this was from, I understand that the W warned the engineer of the grade crossing and the R told them to ring the bell once they were through the grade crossing.
 
The bell is supposed to be turned on any time after passing the whistle sign, WQ (Quiet Zone), going through a passenger station, passing a stopped train on an adjacent track, passing people or work equipment near the tracks, and just before moving when stopped. All the times the bell is required to be on can be found in the railroad's operating rules- which in the case of Amtrak depend on which railroad they are running on, different railroads use different books (UP and BNSF use G.C.O.R., CSX uses NORAC, etc.)
 
Bell use to a certain extent is also at the discretion of the Engineer. In addition to the required locations many will leave it on as they pass through yards on the main line, through a Conditional Stop Order, through a station they're not stopping at, over a bridge, or around a blind corner. It's also going to be used frequently in yard operations where multiple operations are working at the same time.
 
Yeah I assumed that the "whoop" sound was something in the locomotive powering up or releasing just prior to the train's departure from a station. Couldn't tell which thing was actually happening, though.

It's reminiscent of the sound that some types of HVAC compressors make when they're starting up. Not the residential type but the commercial or industrial type.
 
The bell is supposed to be turned on any time after passing the whistle sign, WQ (Quiet Zone), going through a passenger station, passing a stopped train on an adjacent track, passing people or work equipment near the tracks, and just before moving when stopped. All the times the bell is required to be on can be found in the railroad's operating rules- which in the case of Amtrak depend on which railroad they are running on, different railroads use different books (UP and BNSF use G.C.O.R., CSX uses NORAC, etc.)
At our model railroad club, we have some HO scale Kato P42s that sound the bell every time the horn is sounded. I looked up once and found that this is unique to Amtrak but I had never heard the bell with the horn since I'm usually on that train. We had a visitor who turned out to be a Coast Starlight engineer so I asked him about it. He said that, indeed, the bell sounds when the horn is sounded. The opposite is, of course, not the case.
 
At my SoCal Metrolink approaches on my morning commute from Chatsworth, CA (CWT) also a Pacific Surfliner stop), the ditch lights are alternate flashing and the bell sounding, no horn. As he approaches the platform and stops, the ditch lights stay on steady (not flashing) with the bell still sounding. Two toots and the bell when we depart.
 
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